Crossing The Andes

Stef views how life is celebrated in a place where life is short, the mining town of Potosí, the highest city in the world. He finds the first and largest silver mine that the Spaniards exploited.

Stef visits South America's largest skyscraper in the Chilean capital of Santiago. Built as a symbol of economic prosperity, someone jumps off of it almost every month as depression rates in the city soar.

Stef heads to the southernmost tip of Argentina and finds an impressive electronics industry. As news of available jobs spreads, Terra del Fuego becomes crowded with South American fortune seekers.

Stef heads to the valley of eternal life in Ecuador, and meets a spry old man doing field work who was born in 1913. The centenarians in Vicabamba valley reveal what they do to stay healthy.

Stef wonders if the role of mother-in-law is changing in Latin America as the economy picks up, and families are less likely to live together under one roof.

Stef travels the most important river in Colombia, the Magdalena, which begins in the Andes and flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Called the mother of the land, the river may be forgotten as progress moves forward.